Study Backs Cold Treatment For Sudden Cardiac Arrest

By

Ron Winslow

July 12, 2011

A new study could bolster growing interest in a technique to chill the bodies of sudden cardiac-arrest patients that has been shown to help keep victims alive.

Researchers found that of 140 patients who got the treatment, in which the body is quickly cooled after the heartbeat is restored, 56% survived to be discharged from the hospital—92% of them with most or all of their cognitive function intact.